Drug busts, Euro 2024 fuel 14% rise of soccer arrests in UK

Arrests at soccer games in the UK are on the rise. United Kingdom government officials revealed that 2,584 total soccer-related arrests happened across the 2023/24 season. This figure represents 320 more arrests (14%) compared to the previous year. Because there were more arrests, bans are also trending upward as well.

For instance, as of August 2024, 2,172 stadium bans were in place in the United Kingdom. This is a fairly significant increase of 34% over the previous calendar year. A total of 825 new bans were handed out during the 2023/24 season, an increase of 21% compared with the previous campaign.

The latest results came from two specific areas of concern. Firstly, a significant chunk of new arrests came from class A drug busts. Illegal substances in this category include cocaine, heroin, ecstasy, and Fentanyl. Arrests in this category were up 144 over to 2022/23.

Along with the increase in drug busts, arrests pertaining to Euro 2024 also contributed to the latest statistics. For reference, 417 total arrests came in connection with national team games. This represents 16% of all soccer-related arrests revealed by the UK government. Of these arrests, 281 related directly to Euro 2024. This comes even though the tournament was in Germany.

Police official claims figures are ‘encouraging’ moving forward

Despite the precarious statistics, UK police claim that the figures do have a silver lining. Chief Constable Mark Roberts of Cheshire, the head of soccer policing in England and Wales, says that the arrests show that there is a more “proactive” approach to dealing with issues at soccer stadiums.

“While the total number of incidents is still above pre-pandemic levels, it’s encouraging to see them stabilizing and going in the right direction, with a 12% fall in the number of matches where football-related incidents were reported,” said Roberts. “That correlates with the proactive approach we have seen from police forces across the country.”

“It is important that these figures are put into context. Last season, around 47 million people attended men’s domestic and international matches, the highest number we have on record, and the vast majority of football fans are law-abiding citizens who want to support their team.”

“However, there are a small number of fans who commit offenses, and we will continue to work closely with the CPS [Crown Prosecution Service] and our other partners to ensure that those responsible are held accountable.”

West Ham supporters arrested more than any other fan base

According to the data, more than half of these arrests came from soccer fans at away matches. In total, West Ham supporters once again led the Premier League in arrests during the 2023/24 season with 103. Hammers supporters previously had the most arrests of any fan base in the two previous years as well.

Manchester City and Manchester United fans each had 88 arrests during this timeframe, joint second of any supporter group. Rounding out the top five most-arrested fan bases were Arsenal (85) and Chelsea (67). Public disorder was the most common reason for arrests among all of these fan bases.

Leeds United, likely fueled by their relegation to the Championship, experienced the biggest decrease in arrests (-46) compared to the previous season. West Brom, on the other hand, had the largest increase in arrests (+40) compared to 2022/23. A large portion of these arrests came during the FA Cup competition. The Baggies fell in the tournament to bitter rivals Wolves.

PHOTOS: IMAGO.